Enno Rehling

The title gives it away: This book features the Spanish inquisition (and not the one with the comfy chair). There are also seven rings (not for the dwarf lords), an angel of death, and a trip to Manchester that serves to bring us some more WW2 history and a rare bit of Seawall origin story that I greatly enjoyed. And of course, Peter is going to be a dad and his family are as charmingly idiosyncratic as ever. If I have any complaints, it's that there weren't more references to classic jazz.

I don't know if it's because I didn't do the full required reading of Homer, Hobbes and ancient Greek mythology, but this book seemed overly long. There are moments of brilliance that made me keep going, but I still lost track of all the characters and their motivations frequently enough to make me consider aborting. All that said, it was a clever and many-layered book (or rather, series of books), just not one that I find easy to recommend.

The author clearly loves wood, and uses it as the red thread to take us on an exciting journey through the history of civilization. I loved this book, and the broad range of things that it taught me about, from architecture to metalworking and historic climate change.

Lottie Grote is the bestest!

My favorite of the graphic novels so far.

I was hoping for more space travel and aliens, but got a murder mystery in a corporate dystopia. And a grim one at that.

There were times when this book got very uncomfortable, but the twists and eventual resolution made it worth staying with the story.

Another lovely book in a series that I'm starting to appreciate a lot. Sparkly vampires, a werewolf, and the return of Fas. I like what's happening with Varney, and I think he's becoming my favorite character.
My favorite addition to the cast, and new English word, most be the two “remedial psychopomps”.

Plausible near-future Science Fiction that reviews the impact of a technology like Elon Musk's Neuralink might have on our society and those who cannot participate, as well as the dangers of giving corporations like that too much unchecked control. Themes include LGBTQ and disability, and it's refreshing to see an unconventional family (Sophie and David have two moms) at the center of this story, without the story being about that.

Another modern Asterix that's not able to capture the spirit of the old ones. This time Asterix and Obelix travel east to the icy steppes, and the story doesn't really seem to be sure why, or what they're doing there. There are wolves and amazons, and plenty of terrible wordplay.

I want to read more Spirou comics in this style. Flix did a fantastic job with the story and the art.

This should become a movie! Nicely navigates a path between telling a compelling story and historical accuracy. Not my usual fare, although I guess I do like to read civil rights stories.

I'm beyond excited to have found another Paranormal London series. This book scratches the same itch for me as the Rivers of London books or the Athena Club series do.

This was only okay. Even in this third revision of Wendig's self-proclaimed “trunk novel”, there was too much stuff for one book here, and the conclusion did not feel satisfying.

I had been meaning to read this since before the Trump presidency, and finally got around to it. This book is both a classic and very relevant today. Lewis presents a very plausible version of American fascism grounded in a mix of corporate power and populism.

Although I liked the book overall, I don't think I enjoyed it enough. There were a few times I considered abandoning it altogether.

The message about the plight of women in a patriarchal society is important, but the presentation here is very on the nose. The story takes a long time before it gets to the eventual climax, which is then crammed into the final chapters, making for a very unbalanced reading experience.

I think I may be over Max Barry. The themes are repeating themselves (corporations are bad, mkay?), and the characters in this book are very one-dimensional. I never felt much empathy for the protagonist, either.

I learned a lot, and got a lot of extra context for past events that I was aware of, but never thought this much about before. A remarkable deep dive into the history of the state of Israel and its use of assassination as a political tool. The author has incredible access to some leading figures, and I'm frankly surprised this book exists.

The underlying science fiction plot is well-crafted in the way it twists and turns, but what I appreciated most was the description of the main character's inner thoughts. At times uncomfortably recognizable, she's got a desire to be in control, and has many of the flaws she sees in other people (her husband, lab assistants and parents), but is in perfect denial about that.

This was a slog. Things keep happening to the protagonist, he never really gets in control of them, and then eventually, his quest just ends and the book is over. There are some similarities to Wizard's Guide, but that book was much better.

It's not the fairy tale you might expect, but it's really good.

A very worthy sequel to the first book.

Mona is a young baker with magical talent who suddenly finds herself with the fate of her entire cities (and an animated gingerbread man) on her shoulder. Fun YA fantasy novel from an author I hadn't read before, but definitely will seek out more.

I can't say I wasn't warned, and I knew how it had to end, but none of that softened the blow. Well done.

The style emulates that of an author who is paid by the word, and can at times get tedious. The story is fine, but there are a few to many characters whose motivations don't become clear until late into thw book, and I found myself confused about who was who a few times.

This book-within-a-book is nothing like Middlegame, and if you're looking for a connection, you'll be disappointed. It's just a story in the vein of Narnia or the Wizard of Oz. Not bad, but also not knocking me off my feet.